There’s no perfect diet for everyone, but there are some general tips that work well for most people, listed below.

I say “most people” because everyone is different, with their own preferences, allergies, intolerances, etc., so when following any advice – even mine – be sure to ask your medical professional about it before implementing anything. This post is for informational purposes only, and not a recommendation for you to follow.

When most people read this tip sheet they find most of the things can be done. There are some, however, who read it and say things like “Ewe!” or, “I’m vegan/have Chrohn’s/Hashimoto’s/etc., so that won’t work” and that’s totally fine. This is just some general ideas for most people. Again, ask your medical professional for specific help in your particular case.

OK, here we go. These are my top tips for people who weigh between 100-250 lbs and live in a temperate climate. The amounts can change based on lots of factors such as climate, activity, stress, etc., so it’s just generalizations. If you try them (after clearing it with your medical professional), you will notice the steps getting easier to master as you progress down because the earlier steps pave the way for the later steps, so the order is important.

1.) My top tip is to drink hydrating liquids. Rarely, people already are drinking enough, but here’s how to find out if you are in the majority who aren’t. Take your bodyweight in pounds, divide that in half, and that is about how many ounces of hydrating liquids you should be drinking, spread as evenly as possible throughout the day. “Hydrating liquids” are things like clean water, tea, milk, nut milks, and even coffee, but the caffeinated kind is usually counted by 1/2 the volume consumed.

2.) Next, after that habit is established, I usually recommend eating more greens. Rarely, people already are eating enough, but if you are eating 5+ servings of green veggies per day, you’re doing great. A serving is the size of your fist.

3.) Next, after that habit is established, I usually recommend eating more protein. Rarely, people already are eating enough, but here’s how to find out if you are in the majority who aren’t. It’s the same formula as above. Take your bodyweight in pounds, divide that in half, and that is about how many grams of protein you should be eating, , spread as evenly as possible throughout the day, but this is your minimum. More is better – to a point – with the upper limit being eating as many grams as you weigh in pounds. More than that, for most people, is just a waste of money, since it’s hard to absorb more than that per day.

4.) Next, after that habit is established (with all of the habits above that still going as well), I usually recommend people start reducing their “fast carbs.” These are mainly sugar and starches. Take your bodyweight in pounds and that is about how many carb grams you should be eating per day. Cutting out sugar and starch should drop that down to the range I’m recommending here, but it’s important to read labels and track it because sugar and starch is in pretty much everything.

5.) Next, after that habit is established (with all of the habits above that still going as well), I usually recommend people start reducing their intake of vegetable oils. These are highly inflammatory and make weight loss much harder to accomplish, not to mention general health goals. The best fats are organic animal and fruit fats (i.e. butter, ghee, coconut, avocado, olive, etc. The worst are canola, soy, corn and other vegetable fats. Nut fats are less bad, but definitely a moderation food.

6.) Next, after that habit is established (with all of the habits above that still going as well), I usually recommend people start reducing their intake of processed foods. Work on gravitating toward the food with one ingredient on the label. If there are more than one ingredient, make sure they are all really food ingredients. If the ingredient list is a paragraph, avoid those as much as possible. God-made food is good for you. Man-made food is often bad for you.

7.) Next, after that habit is established (with all of the habits above that still going as well), I usually recommend people start shopping organic. Now that your habits above are set, cleaning up your food is a helpful last step. Your ideal weight will be achieved with the steps above and your ideal health will be achieved with this step. Then for your ideal fitness, join the X Gym online, live at our club, or through our app!

Now, as a bonus for reading this to the end, here’s a free shopping list! Just download and print the graphic at the bottom of this page. You will see the healthier foods toward the top of the chart and the unhealthy foods toward the bottom, also with their fat-burning contribution ranked from high to low.

Lastly, if you have trouble establishing habits or have difficulty with food cravings, emotional eating, etc., consider taking my brain type test at braintype.me to find your secret hacks and shortcuts to get past your hurdles with nutrition, health, and fitness!